Out with the old, in with the new. The wheel of change has been spinning merrily during the long, hot (and often wet) summer. That’s especially true for those who make the news. The media is the message.There’s a new man at the helm of the New York Times. Arthur Sulzberger is counting on Bill […]

Lewiston has adopted a fast-track approach to development.Negotiations are held in secret, sweet tax breaks are generated, public debate is held to a minimum and big deals are done fast. The aim is new jobs, new businesses and a growing, diversified tax base.The hoped-for ends certainly are worthy. But we are worried about the means.When […]

“Watched Bush in Africa saying how bad slavery was and it really was,” said the e-mail I just received from this reader in Plantation, Fla. “How about writing a column about those bad African kings who sold their enemies to the slave-traders. Without their cooperation there would have been no slavery.”I’ve heard that one a […]

The Dayton (Ohio) Daily News, July 14New federal rules defining who’s entitled to overtime are a step backward for workers.Last week the U.S. House of Representatives voted down a proposal to prevent the proposed rules from taking effect, so even if the Senate were to object, the Labor Department will get its way. The only […]

Saddam Hussein probably believes his war plan is working. Knowing he could not withstand American and British military might, Saddam theorized that the United States and Britain would cut and run if in the post-war aftermath the casualties became unacceptable and Americans’ notoriously short attention span kicked in. From his bunker, Saddam must be getting […]

Maine’s funding formula for special education is being criticized in a study by a New York research group.We’re skeptical of the report, which says that school systems have an incentive to classify kids as handicapped in order to get more funding. Maine funds special education programs based on the number of students enrolled. The authors […]

In a two-pronged attack on the overtime provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act, the Bush administration is seeking “technical changes” that will not only result in millions of Americans losing their right to overtime pay, but also would allow employers to substitute comparable time off for overtime pay.In the first part of what Rev. […]

Small businesses play an important role in the health of the economy.That’s especially true in Maine, where, as of 2001, there were more than 38,900 small businesses employing more than 60 percent of the state’s workforce.When the federal government sets goals for awarding contracts to small businesses, that’s good. What’s not good, however, is the […]

The Bush administration has revised its forecasts for the federal budget deficit from just five months ago. The news is not good.The deficit could top $450 billion for this year and continue up to $475 billion in 2004. The deficit number could climb even higher as costs and programs not included in the administration’s numbers […]

No way in hell.That was my first response to the news, recently, that Los Angeles Lakers guard Kobe Bryant had been arrested for sexual assault. After I’d had a chance to reflect, it was also my second, third and fourth response.Kobe? Sexual assault? My instinct is to doubt.Yes, I recognize I’m perched on a shaky […]